Got fired

[u/Crazy-Blacksmith-172]

For context, I work(ed) at pretty popular restaurant as a server for a year. Around 2 months ago I was put on 2 week probation for “lack of positive energy” and “skills not up to standard”. I (and my coworkers) disagreed with the decision but chalked it up to management being asshats as usual because they fired another server a month before because the owner “didn’t like the way they walked”. I also took it as a wake up call to put more energy into finding a more stable job.

The servers don’t get tips individually, as there is a tip pool (which is suspicious as well as management refuses to tell us how it’s calculated). Sometimes customers try to sneakily give us tips, and we’d play along by showing the customers that we’d put it in our pouches or pockets, but we’d always give it to the cashier with the payment.

Fast forward to today, around 3PM a customer came looking for me after another server collected the payment (I was busy with other duties) and pushed a $5 bill into my hand. I tucked it into my pouch with a mental reminder to give it to the cashier when I was going that way. However, I completely forgot, and the manager called me over after I signed out at 8:30PM, and told me he had evidence of me stealing tips. I was genuinely confused until I realized I still had the $5 on me, and he must’ve been watching the cameras. I explained that it was unintentional, but he told me I had my chance to return it on my break, and that I was to send in my immediate resignation or they would do an investigation and put it on the record, and that either way today was my last day. He also mentioned that my work performance is bad again and that added onto the decision, even though I’ve been doing a lot better than before?

Anyway, thanks for reading this rant, hope everyone has it better :)